New Springfield City Councilor Alan Stout, re-elected Mayor Sean VanGordon and re-elected Councilors Kori Rodley and Beth Blackwell took oaths of office Monday to start their new terms.
All four won their seats in uncontested elections last May after no candidates filed to challenge VanGordon, Rodley or Blackwell for their seats and Stout was the only one who filed to replace retiring 20-year Councilor Joe Pishioneri. All four were elected with approximately 98% of the vote (with 2% going to write-in candidates).
Stout is vice president of local material wholesalers Cedarwood Distribution and Stout Steel. In 2022, he ran for state representative as a Republican. He lost that race, but with 47.6% of the vote, he gave Rep. John Lively, D-Springfield, the closest re-election challenge of his 12-year career.
In that election , Stout campaigned on a platform that encouraged housing development by loosening regulations, increasing state funding for mental health and addiction resources and Springfield’s Main Street project , and lowering taxes.